Soolip Founder Wanda Wen Sparks Conversation With Her Newest Pursuit

L.A. tastemaker Wanda Wen is a case study in following your bliss. Armed with a background in fashion, an eye for artistry and a mind for business, she opened her classily curated West Hollywood paper-arts boutique, Soolip, in the midst of the Digital Revolution—a gutsy move that proved visionary, with a boldface following and spinoffs, from A Soolip Wedding to the Wanda Wen-penned The Art of Gift Wrapping.

How did your early inspirations translate to Soolip?

The beauty and intelligence of nature has always inspired me, paper too. Ever since I was young, I loved exchanging and embellishing Valentine’s cards and family photo albums. It was always in my blood.

As a businesswoman and an aesthete, how can paper inspire the way home and office space is utilized?

Today, we live in a world fraught with email, E-vites and E-cards, Facebook messaging, and digital technology. While there’s no doubt about the great benefits of electronic messaging, nothing captures a moment better than putting pen to paper. The handwritten note is making a comeback in the business world as the single most effective way to engage a client, as it indicates investment.

Did Soolip’s other ventures spin-off organically from the boutique?

Yes. Soolip Weddings came out of what I felt was a need in the wedding
industry to curate a collection of the best of Los Angeles, along with a certain aesthetic level, and an inspired way of doing business. From this luxury, showcase grew client interest in my styling for actual weddings and adding the
Soolip touch.

What are you working on now?

A new line of candles—my first step into the lifestyle world, outside of the paper. I’ve formulated the scents, concept and the packaging, and the line will be available on our website, Soolip.com, by this fall, as well as at select retailers.

Why candles?

I’m attracted to scent and how it transports people, and am naturally responsive to sensory and tactile elements, as all humans are. That’s the reason why people gravitate toward paper, because it is tactile and touches our senses. It’s also a way to package the Soolip brand into something that is accessible to many.

There’s a romantic, time-honored quality to everything you touch. How do you keep it all modern?

For me, it’s about staying true to my aesthetic with always a nod to nature. I’m a modern woman living in a modern time, so the burning of a candle, writing a letter, taking time for oneself—to me that’s the new luxury. Soolip is a luxury brand, but not what many may still be hanging onto, where it’s about flash and bigger is better. The new luxury I refer to is about time-honored experiences and quality. That’s my vision.

How do you balance art and commerce so beautifully and successfully? 

I grew up within a family of entrepreneurs, which taught me about work ethic. And I knew that business would take me where I needed to go. Being passionate about what I do has always been most important to me. Now that Soolip is 20 years old, I’m ready to leverage the value of the brand.

What do you hope Soolip’s legacy will be?

I want to see Soolip as a premier luxury brand, moving the luxury consumer to
see luxury in a way—time-honored and mindful. I see it as aspirational and touching many facets of design. The gift that I want to leave is to inspire others to see the beauty in the simple and the unexpected, connect people back to nature and to themselves, and to foster the celebration of those who work with their hands and hearts.

Photography Courtesy of Wanda Wen